Chanakya Niti: Sanskrit Verses, Grammar & Meaning

Chanakya Neeti or Cāṇakya Nīti (IAST) ( चाणक्य नीति ) is a compilation of Sanskrit (संस्कृत) verses , known as aphorisms by Chanakya (आचार्य चाणक्य: 375–283 BCE). He was a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist and a royal advisor. He authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashāstra (अर्थशास्त्र). He is considered the pioneer in the field of political science and economics in India. Around 321 BCE, Chanakya assisted the first Mauryan emperor, Chandragupta, in his rise to power.

Chanakya chose these aphorisms from ancient literature prior to his own time. It is not known who originally wrote them nor do we know whether some of them were written by him. We are truly indebted to those Rishis and poets who wrote these beautiful verses but chose to remain nameless.

The word Neeti means ethical behavior and/or moral philosophy related to human beings in a society. Most verses in Chanakya Neeti are logical, ethical, universal and pertinent even in today's world.

The chapters or the verses in the original Chanakya Neeti are not organized by specific subjects. The same subject may be scattered in many verses throughout the book or the same verse can apply to more than one subject! In this book, we have organized the verses pertaining to a specific subject chapter by chapter.

At the beginning of his book, Chanakya comments that by understanding the philosophy behind these verses, one would know what is right and what is wrong, what is to be done and not to be done by individuals, family members and the rulers.

This book grew out of our love, not only for the philosophy in these verses but for how beautifully it was composed in the Sanskrit (संस्कृत) language. This book should be of interest to all readers of Hindu Philosophy and especially to Sanskrit lovers. If one does not want to read the grammar, one can just read the English translations and understand the wisdom of one of the most reputed scholars in Indian History.